by Michael J. Newman

Are you tired of listening to the Man and looking for a kick-ass way to enjoy some free time? Then get ready to rock with Encore Theater’s production of School of Rock – The Musical, running September 27th through October 12. And you’d better get your tickets fast because this show is hot and selling out quickly!

School of Rock is a musical stage adaptation of the popular 2003 film starring Jack Black. This adaptation features songs from the original movie, in addition to new music by Broadway superstar Andrew Lloyd-Webber. The story follows Dewey Finn (David McCallister), a failed, wannabe rock star who decides to earn an extra bit of cash by posing as a substitute teacher at a prestigious prep school. There he turns a class of straight-A pupils into a guitar-shredding, bass-slapping, mind-blowing rock band. But can he get them to the Battle of the Bands without their parents and the school’s head-mistress finding out? This show features two different casts of amazingly talented kids, many of whom play real instruments live on stage!

Cast of “School of Rock”

Leading this “motley crew” of rock stars is the directing duo of Lauren Fonseca and Riley Reitzel. Lauren Fonseca is the theatre arts and dance teacher at Oak Valley School and has been involved with Encore Theater for over 20 years, including volunteering as the choreographer for Encore’s youth program Stages. Though this show marks his directorial debut, Riley Reitzel has over 20 years of experience as a musician. He has performed at numerous locations between San Diego and Washington State and has worked in percussion instruction for several years. In addition, he and Ryan Avila have spent countless hours teaching the talented young stars of this show how to play the real instruments their characters play on stage.

One thing that both directors are super excited about with this show is the fact that all-new sound equipment was purchased especially for this show – sound equipment that will not only make this show rock your socks off, but will benefit the theater for years to come. This long overdue sound upgrade wasn’t cheap, but thanks to the amazingly successful fundraising campaign “You’re in the Band!”, Encore Theater raised over $20,000! You’ll be blown away with the new sound quality: watching this show will be like experiencing your favorite rock concert all over again, only this time starring the most amazing group of talented kids. Sharing the stage alongside these two casts of young rock stars are Encore regulars David McCallister, Gloriann Arnett, Michael Newman, and Katie McCallister.

As always, Encore’s cabaret service will be running before the show and during intermission, featuring a couple show-specific specialities alongside Encore’s usual fare. As of this writing, opening night is completely sold out, with several other shows close to being sold out as well! Assuming tickets continue to sell this fast, it’s looking at potentially selling out the entire run before it even opens, which has only happened once before in Encore’s history with last year’s Matilda. Get your tickets immediately if you want to be a part of the band and join the School of Rock!

Performances run 9/27-10/12. Get your tickets now by calling the box-office at 559-686-1300 or visiting the website at Encoretulare.org.

Check out more local entertainment articles in our Arts & Entertainment section. And don’t miss out on Mysteryrat’s Maze Podcast where we feature mystery stories read by local actors!